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atmetaphase.bsky.social
Rae Vistein (they/them)
@atmetaphase.bsky.social
52 followers 120 following 22 posts
Biomedical researcher and veterinarian with a special interest in neuroscience and evolution. Agender bird- nerd 🦜🦎🏳️‍🌈
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atmetaphase.bsky.social
Fantastic example of cutting edge research probing basic questions of how the brain works. There is so much yet to learn as we gain the deep understanding of biological processes needed to keep informing medicine and technological innovation. news.westernu.ca/2025/10/sens...
Study reveals brain’s predictive power
New study reveals that we rely on sensory expectations to get prepared for unexpected disturbances, helping us react faster and more accurately.
news.westernu.ca
November 23, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
animalbehaviour.live
The conference is next week!✨

Join us on 13–14 November for a rich two-day schedule of fascinating talks on animal behaviour 🦋🐟🐆

💻 Free, online & open to all worldwide
👉 Explore the program and register 🔗 ablaoc25.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...
November 4, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
eara.eu
A petition to halt primate imports for biomedical research was launched in #Canada, based on a conflation of unproven allegations that could cost lives.🔗https://www.eara.eu/post/in-defence-of-life-saving-science-why-canada-s-primate-research-must-continue #NHP #research #SciencePolicy #monkey
EARA COMMENT: In defence of life-saving science: why Canada's primate research must continue
The New Democratic Party in Canada has launched a petition calling on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to halt primate imports for biomedical research, based on a conflation of unproven ...
www.eara.eu
November 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Zara has been a friend since grad school. I can barely grasp the loss to science, her loved ones, and her communities. Her absence will be felt dearly and her memory a treasure.
merz.bsky.social Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦 @merz.bsky.social · Nov 1
Zara was one of the best people I've crossed paths with in this career, in this life. A fissure has opened with her departure, and I will miss her terribly.
willowcoyote.bsky.social Willow Coyote-Maestas @willowcoyote.bsky.social · Oct 31
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
November 2, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
eara.eu
Two #comment articles with opposite perspectives about the role of #animals in #biomedical #research have been featured in the scientific journal #Nature, fueling a polarised discourse that can confuse and misinform the public and decision-makers. #NAM #SciencePolicy
www.eara.eu/post/eara-co...
EARA COMMENT: Nature highlights polarised discourse over the value of animal research
Two comment articles with opposite perspectives about the role of animals in biomedical research have been featured in Nature.
www.eara.eu
October 27, 2025 at 12:56 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Fantastic work
October 21, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
prideinstem.bsky.social
Happy International Lesbian Day! ☀️☀️☀️
Lesbian marching with a sign that says a day without lesbians is like a day without sunshine
October 8, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
eara.eu
We are pleased to welcome Western University @westernu.ca to EARA!

Check out the full list of EARA members on our website: eara.eu/our-members
September 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Thank you #CALAS for a wonderful event in beautiful British Columbia! It was great to meet peers in lab animal science and medicine from across Canada and beyond. @eara.eu is a wonderful partner I hope to hear more from!
May 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Favorite trend in refined experimental procedures right now is micropipette assisted voluntary consumption in rodents as an alternative to gavage. Validated for mice and rats! Lovely paper by Vanhecke et al! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Refined tamoxifen administration in mice by encouraging voluntary consumption of palatable formulations - Lab Animal
Pairing palatable formulations with micropipette dosing for administration of water-insoluble drugs such as tamoxifen in mice promotes voluntary consumption without loss of efficacy compared to more i...
www.nature.com
April 23, 2025 at 1:17 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Important guide as Western mustangs fall prey to Chase the goose again!
rosemarymosco.com Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · Apr 16
There's a lot of talk about Canada Geese and whether they're good and my answer is Yes.
A comic called "how to draw goose neck". In panel 1 the goose's neck is very short and is labeled "no". In panel 3 the goose's neck is the right size and is labeled "yes". In panel 3 the goose's neck is longer and is labeled "no". In panel 4 the goose's neck is extremely long and terrifyingly snakelike and it's labeled "yessss". A comic called The Canada Goose: A Role Model For Our Time. In panel 1, the goose is labeled "assertive" and is hissing furiously. In panel 2 it's "brave" and is standing up to a fearsome swan. In panel 3 it's "good parent" and is standing up to a dog while protecting its goslings. In panel 3 it's "team player" and is flying in a beautiful V. In panel 5 there's a close up of its head and it's labeled "crisp, modern aesthetic". In panel 6 it's eating grass and pooping and labeled "high fiber diet".
April 16, 2025 at 7:19 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
We knew black cap chickadee females preferred to mate with males with better spatial memory, but not how they knew who that was. New paper reveals plumage correlated with memory better than song, suggesting the cue is visual! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Variation in plumage reflectance but not song reflects spatial cognitive performance in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) - Animal Cognition
In seasonally variable environments, enhanced cognitive abilities may allow animals to adjust their behavior to changing conditions. Nonmigratory food-caching birds, like chickadees, rely on specializ...
link.springer.com
February 24, 2025 at 12:40 AM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Please enjoy a beautiful little derp in these trying times.
February 24, 2025 at 12:34 AM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
New cockatoos are the best paper just out! Innovative flavoring behavior in Goffin’s cockatoos: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Innovative flavoring behavior in Goffin’s cockatoos
Reports on food preparation in non-human animals are rare and often anecdotal. Zewald and Auersperg investigate Goffin’s cockatoos flavoring their food by dunking it in soy yogurt while excluding alte...
www.cell.com
February 13, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
lalegault.bsky.social
For Americans in public health, research, or epidemiology who need to communicate their findings or warnings to the public please e-mail: @nicktsergas.ca at news@canadahealthwatch.ca
January 25, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
itsreallycj.bsky.social
Companies Scaling Back or Denouncing DEI

Amazon
Boeing
Brown-Forman
Caterpillar
Ford
Harley-Davidson
John Deere
Lowe’s
Molson Coors
McDonald’s
Meta
Nissan
Stanley Black & Decker
Target
Tractor Supply
Toyota
Walmart

Support who supports you ✨✊
January 25, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
nbkroemer.bsky.social
A hamster model for stress-induced weight gain:
"To our knowledge, all evidence suggests that social stress induces weight gain in hamsters, even irrespective of diet composition."
Moran & Delville Horm Behav #neuroscience
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A hamster model for stress-induced weight gain
This review addresses the translational relevance of animal models of stress and their effects on body weight. In humans, stress, whether chronic or a…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 1, 2024 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
🧪🌎
katharinehayhoe.com Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · Mar 15
2023 was the hottest year on record. Around the world, it was marked by record wildfires, hot-tub temperature ocean waters, torrential downpours, and non-stop heatwaves. The US had one billion+ dollar weather extreme every 1.8 weeks.

More info: www.climate.gov/news-feature...

Keep reading ... 🧵
This NOAA map shows all 28 of the billion dollar weather and climate disasters that occurred in the US in 2023
March 17, 2024 at 12:40 PM
atmetaphase.bsky.social
Had an amazing week at the MD Anderson for the Primate Behavioral Management Conference! So many great ideas for innovation in enrichment and study design from colleagues around the world ❤️🐒
March 2, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Rae Vistein (they/them)
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Friends, I wrote up a quick guide to getting started on Bluesky for folks who are used to old Science Twitter.

Please share it with your folks who are joining. And please let me know if I missed anything or got anything wrong. 🧪

www.southernfriedscience.com/bluesky-is-n...
Bluesky is now open. Science Twitter, here’s how to use it!
The once-great science twitter is, depending on who you talk to, either dying or dead. Once a vibrant place for many discussions related to my fields of marine biology, ocean conservation, and publ…
www.southernfriedscience.com
February 6, 2024 at 4:12 PM